Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If you haven't been to KC in a few years, I'd highly encourage a visit. They have completely redone the downtown area and turned it into a cool area. There are still parts of the city with decay, but downtown is no longer one of them.
I used to live in KC. Last time I visited I went to the new "Jazz District" or whatever you call it where they have a Jazz Museum and a Black Baseball Hall of Fame. That one street was really nice and it was ghetto all around.
Vast swaths of the city are really terrible. Now, the area around the Plaza and down Ward Parkway (I believe that was the name) where the mansions are is nice.
KC was a big disappointment to me overall.
The only reason I was staying was my ex wife (wife at the time) was finishing up her Masters at UMKC so had to stay for that. I had also stayed for her Bachelors at KU. Now, Lawrence, I liked that town...
The weather was horrible, summers that got as hot as Texas (I remember several weeks of 105 and high humidity), horribly cold winters (I remember waking up to -5 and having to drive to the airport on icy roads, heating bills of $450 a month one time). At least here the winter is mild. There all four seasons are horrible. Spring is too rainy (here spring is sunny and nice), summer is too hot there (same as here), fall is so unpredictable there can be 80 then 40 the next day (nice here), and winter is horrible there (much better here).
I used to live in KC. Last time I visited I went to the new "Jazz District" or whatever you call it where they have a Jazz Museum and a Black Baseball Hall of Fame. That one street was really nice and it was ghetto all around.
Vast swaths of the city are really terrible. Now, the area around the Plaza and down Ward Parkway (I believe that was the name) where the mansions are is nice.
KC was a big disappointment to me overall.
The only reason I was staying was my ex wife (wife at the time) was finishing up her Masters at UMKC so had to stay for that. I had also stayed for her Bachelors at KU. Now, Lawrence, I liked that town...
The weather was horrible, summers that got as hot as Texas (I remember several weeks of 105 and high humidity), horribly cold winters (I remember waking up to -5 and having to drive to the airport on icy roads, heating bills of $450 a month one time). At least here the winter is mild. There all four seasons are horrible. Spring is too rainy (here spring is sunny and nice), summer is too hot there (same as here), fall is so unpredictable there can be 80 then 40 the next day (nice here), and winter is horrible there (much better here).
The Jazz area isn't really a good part of town, but they are trying to clean it up. Westport is nice, as is the Plaza. They really cleaned up downtown by turning it into the P&L District.
But you're right, a good chunk of the city is not great. Most of the nicer areas are on the Kansas side. But despite the blight, Kansas City has an awesome character, it actually feels like a city, and is doing a really good job of cleaning up the blight. I haven't found anything relating to character in the DFW metroplex. Everything is so generic and bland here, and many areas in the metroplex make no attempt at cleaning up and renewing things (Every day, I drive by a self-service car wash that, according to Google Street View, has been shut down for over a decade).
I'm the complete opposite about the weather though. This summer weather in Texas has been unbearable for me. Until a few days ago, I hadn't been comfortable here since early May. I never remember having more than one or two 100+ degree days at a time in Missouri. Most days were in the low 90s. I hate that it never gets below 85 degrees at night in Texas. I never found the KC winters particularly cold. Just like summer, there were some bad days when it was in the single digits, but they never stuck around.
That's what I find interesting about life and people. You didn't care for KC, but I really liked it. You really like Texas, but I don't care for it.
Flying is both expensive and exhausting. With hotels and not being able to cook healthy meals I never feel at 100% when traveling. I'd rather live In a region that I'm passionate about exploring..but obviously that's easier said than done. This is really my only 'regret' about moving to Texas.
Flying is both expensive and exhausting. With hotels and not being able to cook healthy meals I never feel at 100% when traveling. I'd rather live In a region that I'm passionate about exploring..but obviously that's easier said than done. This is really my only 'regret' about moving to Texas.
I think you're an outlier. For you perhaps living in an area you love and just taking "staycations" in the area would be better.
For me, even the coasts couldn't contain me. When I go on vacation, it will ALWAYS be to another place far from where I live. So I might as well live somewhere cheap where I can save up money for when I have vacation and no work and can fully enjoy things.
The Jazz area isn't really a good part of town, but they are trying to clean it up. Westport is nice, as is the Plaza. They really cleaned up downtown by turning it into the P&L District.
But you're right, a good chunk of the city is not great. Most of the nicer areas are on the Kansas side. But despite the blight, Kansas City has an awesome character, it actually feels like a city, and is doing a really good job of cleaning up the blight. I haven't found anything relating to character in the DFW metroplex. Everything is so generic and bland here, and many areas in the metroplex make no attempt at cleaning up and renewing things (Every day, I drive by a self-service car wash that, according to Google Street View, has been shut down for over a decade).
I'm the complete opposite about the weather though. This summer weather in Texas has been unbearable for me. Until a few days ago, I hadn't been comfortable here since early May. I never remember having more than one or two 100+ degree days at a time in Missouri. Most days were in the low 90s. I hate that it never gets below 85 degrees at night in Texas. I never found the KC winters particularly cold. Just like summer, there were some bad days when it was in the single digits, but they never stuck around.
That's what I find interesting about life and people. You didn't care for KC, but I really liked it. You really like Texas, but I don't care for it.
Spring was horrible in the Midwest as well, with March usually being a rainout and then April/May/June being tornado season. Back in Texas it was like in the 70's and sunny in March. I much prefer the springs here.
The other thing I hated about KS was the constant wind. I had read that some people in the Great Plains would go insane from living in the plains and hearing the constant roaring of the wind. What I couldn't believe is how incessant it was. It blew all year, whether hot winds in the summer or cold winds from the north in the winter. It messes up hair, made having barbecues and eating outside all but impossible, etc..
I think you're an outlier. For you perhaps living in an area you love and just taking "staycations" in the area would be better.
For me, even the coasts couldn't contain me. When I go on vacation, it will ALWAYS be to another place far from where I live. So I might as well live somewhere cheap where I can save up money for when I have vacation and no work and can fully enjoy things.
True, I would really love to travel to another continent but I really can't sleep on planes. My body would feel way out of whack. Even flying from Texas to California is tough. I don't think I'd be able to enjoy it as much as most people would. I am planning a trip to Thailand next year so I'll see how that goes!
For me, the ideal place is somewhere that offers easy weekend trips (3-4 hours round trip) to interesting outdoor recreation and/or cities that have a distinctly different flavor from your home city. Additionally, you have a decent airport for longer trips outside of your region. Perhaps that's demanding, but I've had it at other stages in life, so it's something I miss.
Cbach, you're in Austin. I think it offers a lot more than DFW in the way of day trips and scenery. Also, you speak of the great plains as if TX weren't a part of it! FW is right up against the edge of the prairie, and some of the issues with wind are prevalent here too.
For me, the ideal place is somewhere that offers easy weekend trips (3-4 hours round trip) to interesting outdoor recreation and/or cities that have a distinctly different flavor from your home city. Additionally, you have a decent airport for longer trips outside of your region. Perhaps that's demanding, but I've had it at other stages in life, so it's something I miss.
Cbach, you're in Austin. I think it offers a lot more than DFW in the way of day trips and scenery. Also, you speak of the great plains as if TX weren't a part of it! FW is right up against the edge of the prairie, and some of the issues with wind are prevalent here too.
Agreed about Lawrence, BTW, I love that town.
The best place I ever lived was Columbia, MO. It's your typical college town of around 125,000 residents.
Housing was cheap (a 1br apartment was around $500-600), and the job market was decent for the town. Most people worked at the colleges, IBM, CarFax, or one of the other smaller companies in town. Many people would graduate from one of the colleges and end up staying because they liked it so much.
It was somewhat culturally limited, but there was a decent mall, several decent Indian restaurants, some Asian grocery stores, etc. The whole town had a progressive vibe to it. There were plenty of outdoor activities in town (trails and caves). I was 20 minutes from the MO River where you could rent a canoe and go down the MO river.
You were about 75mi (a little over an hour) from the STL airport (which honestly isn't bad considering it can take an hour in traffic to get to DFW), about two hours from Kansas City, about 6 hours from Chicago, and just a few hours from cute little towns like Hermann, and some along the MO and MS rivers.
Traffic was non-existent. It would take you 10-15 minutes to get from one side of town to the other.
I thought I wanted to live in a large city, but after living here in DFW, I really started to re-evaluate. I loved going shopping and going to museums in Dallas and Fort Worth for the first few weeks, but once you've been to those places, a big city can be just as boring as a small town. And the constant traffic really starts to aggravate you.
I'd love to live in a city like Omaha or Des Moines. It would have the amenities of a big city (except airport and sports), but have much cheaper housing and low traffic.
The best place I ever lived was Columbia, MO. It's your typical college town of around 125,000 residents.
Housing was cheap (a 1br apartment was around $500-600), and the job market was decent for the town. Most people worked at the colleges, IBM, CarFax, or one of the other smaller companies in town. Many people would graduate from one of the colleges and end up staying because they liked it so much.
It was somewhat culturally limited, but there was a decent mall, several decent Indian restaurants, some Asian grocery stores, etc. The whole town had a progressive vibe to it. There were plenty of outdoor activities in town (trails and caves). I was 20 minutes from the MO River where you could rent a canoe and go down the MO river.
You were about 75mi (a little over an hour) from the STL airport (which honestly isn't bad considering it can take an hour in traffic to get to DFW), about two hours from Kansas City, about 6 hours from Chicago, and just a few hours from cute little towns like Hermann, and some along the MO and MS rivers.
Traffic was non-existent. It would take you 10-15 minutes to get from one side of town to the other.
I thought I wanted to live in a large city, but after living here in DFW, I really started to re-evaluate. I loved going shopping and going to museums in Dallas and Fort Worth for the first few weeks, but once you've been to those places, a big city can be just as boring as a small town. And the constant traffic really starts to aggravate you.
I'd love to live in a city like Omaha or Des Moines. It would have the amenities of a big city (except airport and sports), but have much cheaper housing and low traffic.
I've been to Columbia, MO. It was was too sleepy for me.
I took a job transfer to Plano, with the alternative being unemployment at age 57.
Besides all of the weather regrets that have already been mentioned, and boring and generic aspects to DFW (which I call America the Average), I can list some that were a surprise.
1. It took my wife over a year to find work, and only because she became willing to take a non management position after having been a director or assistant director position for the previous 18 years. This is a substantially lower income in addition to the year of lost wages.
2. Speaking of lost wages, we used to be a 3.5 hour drive from Las Vegas, and 2 hours from San Diego, so weekend trips did not involve airfare and did not have ot be planned in advance. We also liked vacationing in Arizona. Most vacation was spent visiting relatives in the midwest.
3. Local fun, when you lose Disneyland and the beaches, and the mountain lakes, it is hard to replace.
4. We don't like the emphasis on the east-coast or English looking style of homes, The high peaked roofs are creepy, and along with excessive trees, they block the view of rolling terrain that you don't see in places like Chicago.
5. They still tax us in Texas. Mostly the insane level of property tax, but also the sales tax is the same as California. Some places in California are under scrutiny for wanting a soda tax, but in Texas you pay sales tax on a Big Gulp and no one is criticizing that.
6. Allergies. I was not allergic to anything in Illinois. In California my hands might break out from certain plants. In DFW there are airborne things that make me miserable. My wife also gets affected by this.
7. Surroundings. There was a previous post that said, just save your beach and mountain time for your vacation. I understand that point, but there is value to walking out your door and seeing palm trees and mountains as part of the normal background, to being able to see 20 miles out our front window. Seeing colorful gardens instead of 50 shades of green everywhere. Being able to grow lemons, oranges, and grapes in the back yard. This is one of the things that bothers us most.
8. Distance from family. We have older relatives in Arizona, of the age where you want to make sure to visit. It used to be a 5 hour drive and being there once a month was a minimum. Now it is a plane ride and every 2 months is a long trip. One of our children lives in Southern California and we only get there 3 or 4 times a year.
9. Foundation problems. We bought a new townhome but have been helping our son search for a starter home. Many of these have foundation damage and I now carry a level to showings.
I would add, we got lucky and went under contract for our new townhome just a month or so before the housing market in Collin County went through the roof, but for newcomers, the new housing prices may turn DFW into a no-go zone.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
